Catherine Lv defeated England World Championships squad member Alyssa Nguyen to claim top spot in the Junior Girls’ category on weekend one of the National Series.

Lv came out on top 3-1 (11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9) to seal top spot on head-to-head record, with both girls winning four and losing one.

Lv’s defeat was 3-2 (11-8, 4-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-2) to Maja Wojcicka, while Lv was pushed by Calina Dawson, whom she defeated 3-2 (8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7) and especially by Penny Muill – a 3-2 (11-5, 6-11, 11-13, 14-12, 11-8) victory.

Muill also took Nguyen the distance before the Devon youngster won that one 3-2 (11-6, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6). Muill ended in third place, winning her other three matches.

In the corresponding Junior Boys’ Open top division, the referee’s abacus had to go into overdrive as four of the six players won three and lost two.

The verdict went the way of Rishaan Sawant, who finished ahead of Angad Saggu, Harry Tomlinson and Harrison Hill.

The closest match saw Sawant get past Tomlinson 3-2 (11-13, 11-7, 11-6, 14-16, 11-8), while Tomlinson was on the right side of a 3-2 win against Hill.

Outside the top four, there was also a fine match in which Prayrit Ahluwalia defeated Ryan Holland 3-2 (11-6, 2-11, 12-10, 15-17, 11-8).

In Division 2, Toby Harwood won all five to top the division ahead of Nishil Shah and Dhruv Datta, his victories including a 3-2 (11-4, 11-4, 7-11, 10-12, 11-6) margin against Shah.

In the Cadet age group, Maisha Patel won the top division in the girls’ competition at a canter, winning all her six matches for the loss of just one game to finish ahead of Cindy Xiao.

It was 3-0 (12-10, 11-9, 13-11) to Patel when the two met, while the game Patel dropped was against Hazel Lam, a match she won 3-1 (11-9, 11-13, 11-7, 11-7). She also had a tight three-game match against Rabani Ahluwalia, winning 21-19, 11-8, 11-8.

There was also a 100% record in Division 2, where Scotland’s Alexandra Hart won all six and only dropped three games, two of them against Jessie Daniel (10-12, 11-5, 4-11, 12-10, 11-5). Saskia Svoboda was second with five wins.

The Boys’ Open top division was won by Zihan Lin by virtue of his head-to-head record against Ronan Lamont Tierney, winning their tie 3-1 (11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6).

Zin was defeated once, however, losing out 3-0 (11-4, 12-10, 12-10) to Mustafa Ibrahim. He also needed five to beat Li Hao Chen and Malek Shamakh.

Lamont Tierney came from 2-0 down to beat Shamakh 3-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-3, 13-11, 12-10), and he also beat Ibrahim in five – it was 12-10 in his favour in both the fourth and fifth games.

In Division 2, Aaron Wong won all six matches and only lost two games as he finished ahead of Benjamin Willis and Samvit Balaji. It was Balaji who took the two games off Wong, who beat him 3-2 (12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7).

Division 3 saw Robert Short, Taha Shamakh and Joshua Freeman all finish with five wins and one defeat – and that was the order they finished in. Shamakh beat Short in five, Freeman defeated Shamakh in four and Short overcame Freeman in three.

There was a similar story in Division 4, with a finishing order of Daniel Delgado, Dhruvan Kathik and Pehej Vig. Delgado beat Karthik in four, but lost to Vig in five, while it was also four as Karthik beat Vig 3-1 (11-5, 16-18, 12-10, 15-13).

There was a three-way tie in Under-13 Girls’ Division 1, with Akira Bennatraj finishing top, ahead of Swara Mahabhashyam and Evie Fountain.

Mahabhashyam beat Fountain 3-1 (11-7. 6-11, 17, 11-8), Bennatraj defeated Mahabhashyam 3-1 (11-6, 11-13, 11-7, 11-6), and it was 3-2 (11-5, 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 11-7) for Fountain against Bennatraj, whose two-game comeback to level the score proving crucial to tip the balance in her favour.

Fountain also edged out Charlotte Griffiths 14-12 in the fifth, while Mahabhashyam also needed five against the same opponent, a match she won 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 13-15, 11-7.

Division 2 saw another three-way tie, with Chloe Manalastas edging the verdict against Alisa Ma and Tanvi Srirama after all three won five and lost two.

There were some close matches, including Ma’s 3-2 (12-10, 11-8, 4-11, 2-11, 12-10) win over Manalastas and Srirama’s 3-2 (7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-13, 11-6) victory against Ma. Manalastas beat Srirama in four in the crucial result to determine the final standings.

Leo Shahmurov lost just a sole game as he won the Under-13 Boys’ Open Division 1 ahead of Daniel Pavia – it was 3-1 (5-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5) when the two met.

In Division 2, Daniyal Janmohamed was unbeaten across seven matches to finish ahead of Jacob Dennison.

Janmohamed conceded only four games, and they came across two matches – he beat Dennison 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-9 and Alfie Giles 9-11, 11-4, 3-11, 11-8, 11-6.

Noah Clarke won Division 3 ahead of Shiv Jadeja and Kush Jadeja. It was Shiv Jadeja who inflicted Clarke’s only defeat and it was by a 3-1 (11-7, 11-8, 4-11, 11-7) margin. Clarke beat Kush Jadeja 3-2 (11-5, 5-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9).

Shiv Jadeja beat Kush 3-0 to seal second spot after earlier defeats by Ruben Finkelstein and Max Harvey.

Results and tables

Under-19 Boys’ Open | Under-19 Girls
Under-15 Boys’ Open | Under-15 Girls
Under-13 Boys’ Open | Under-13 Girls